While I enjoy memoirs, I wasn’t expecting very much from this book because of the cover; it didn’t look very interesting to me. Was I ever wrong!
I loved so much about this book, especially the conversational style that it was written in. Reading it was almost like sitting with an elderly woman who has had a lifetime of interesting adventures to share. Elsa talks about what it was like to be born into a well-to-do German family where servants take care of the chores. She does not come across as someone who felt she was better than others; her status was simply the only way of life she had ever known. After her parents send her to Naples to visit relatives, she falls in love with Paul the man that her family had carefully planned for her to meet. She becomes Paul’s wife and continues to live as a well-taken care of woman who has household help to do most of the chores. After some financial setbacks, the family has to let the help go.
From that point on, Elsa's life expands as she decides, with her husband’s agreement, to buy a Pensione (hotel). Elsa now has many jobs which she was unprepared for, but she steps up to the challenge. As Jews in Italy, her family and also the extended family members residing in Germany are all affected by Hitler’s rise to power. She shares what it was like to live during those years, and how they eventually got away, but not before helping many people in need by letting them stay in her hotel.
This book was a treasure trove of historical events, shared by a person who lived through them, told in such an engaging voice that I kept reading it every chance I had. Elsa added interesting tidbits about some of the guests who stayed in the hotel that really added to the book. I highly recommend it.
I loved so much about this book, especially the conversational style that it was written in. Reading it was almost like sitting with an elderly woman who has had a lifetime of interesting adventures to share. Elsa talks about what it was like to be born into a well-to-do German family where servants take care of the chores. She does not come across as someone who felt she was better than others; her status was simply the only way of life she had ever known. After her parents send her to Naples to visit relatives, she falls in love with Paul the man that her family had carefully planned for her to meet. She becomes Paul’s wife and continues to live as a well-taken care of woman who has household help to do most of the chores. After some financial setbacks, the family has to let the help go.
From that point on, Elsa's life expands as she decides, with her husband’s agreement, to buy a Pensione (hotel). Elsa now has many jobs which she was unprepared for, but she steps up to the challenge. As Jews in Italy, her family and also the extended family members residing in Germany are all affected by Hitler’s rise to power. She shares what it was like to live during those years, and how they eventually got away, but not before helping many people in need by letting them stay in her hotel.
This book was a treasure trove of historical events, shared by a person who lived through them, told in such an engaging voice that I kept reading it every chance I had. Elsa added interesting tidbits about some of the guests who stayed in the hotel that really added to the book. I highly recommend it.